Millions of people across the globe face the daily challenge of managing their diabetes. Several times a day, they must test their blood for glucose levels. Currently, most consumers monitor their daily glucose levels by themselves through the use of electrochemical glucose meters. In these devices, a sample of blood is collected from a pin prick in the body into a test strip, which is inserted into a meter for calculation and display of the glucose level. The longevity and health of diabetics is directly related to how tightly their glucose levels are controlled through daily self-testing and administration of insulin, as well as diet and exercise. Accordingly, highly accurate glucose testing in self-monitoring can aid millions of diabetics who daily endeavor to maintain optimal blood glucose levels.
Moreover, since blood is a vital component of the body, many other blood analytes are of significant interest in managing human health. Accordingly, self-testing or measuring other analytes or properties of blood are also of interest as the medical industry seeks rapid and effective methods to monitor various medical conditions.
Disposable test strips used in self-testing must be calibrated to the meter with which they are used. In particular, these test strips include several chemical reagents for reaction with the blood sample to enable detection of a particular blood analyte. Since each set of test strips has a slightly different chemical composition, each set of test strips must be calibrated relative to the meter into which the test strips are inserted. Unfortunately, conventional calibration mechanisms do not provide a robust method for reliable and accurate calibration of test strips with meters.